Cool summer fishing

Trout fishing on cold mountain stream can help beat the heat

By Keith Sutton

LITTLE ROCK — Want to beat the summer heat? You might want to consider a trout-fishing trip on one of the cold tailwaters in Arkansas' Ozark Mountains. The water flowing downstream from the dams is cold, but summer fishing for rainbow, brown, cutthroat and/or brook trout is hot. On these scenic waters, experts and novices alike can catch a few fish for dinner, tr y for the trophy of a lifetime or simply enjoy catching and releasing a bunch of fish.

LITTLE RED RIVER

The Little Red is a stream of contrasts. This popular t rout st rea m nea r Heb er Springs runs crystal clear andice cold and is skirted by scenic hardwood hillsides alive with wildlife.

The trout you catch in the Little Red are mostly hatchery fish. Few will ignore offerings of whole-kernel corn, night crawlers or cheese, and on a good day, you might catch 50 or more 9- to 12-inch rainbows, cutthroats and brook trout.

There are wild fish, too - big bruiser brown trout, sleek and magnificent, that spawn on t u mbl i ng r iver shoa l s each fall. And there are fish for f ly fishers - long, lean trout gone feral after years of freedom, trout that will wolfishly inhale an olive midge or pheasant-tail nymph if it is presented just so; trout that offer more challenge than your typical grocery-eating stocker. They're here, and there are lots of them.

The trout-fishing stretch of the Little Red is relatively small - 29 river miles from Greers Ferry Dam to Pangburn. But the Little Red is anything but little in the hearts of trout fishermen. This stream has a big reputation and is touted as one of the finest trout streams in the world. That's partially because it produces big trout. To use the foremost example, on May 9, 1992, Howard "Rip" Collins of Heber Springs landed a mammoth 40-pound, 4-ounce brown trout that remains the all-tackle world re-cord.

The river gets pretty crowded at times, especially on weekends, but even then, it's not difficult to find a good fishing hole.

You may be within sight of six or eight boats, but it's not often you'll have much trouble catching your limit of trout. Finding good trout f ishing on the Little Red is usually a cinch.

WHITE RIVER

To many trout-fishing enthusiasts, the White River is sacred water. Never mind that it's in the South and not the West. Try to forget that most anglers passing by in the long green johnboats with movie-directors' chairs are casting corn and marshmallows instead of hand-tied flies.

These things don't matter because the White is quite possibly America's best trout river in terms of the number and size of fish it produces.

The most popular section is the Bull Shoals tailwater, a 92-mile stretch from Bull Shoals Dam to Guion.

Trout fishing also is excellent in the 8-mile stretch of trout water below Beaver Dam between Eureka Springs and Gateway.

Big browns are the main attraction. Three- to 5-pounders are common, and browns running 10 to 30 pounds and more are always a possibility.

Rainbows are the White's bread-and-butter trout. At times, nearly every cast will produce a 9- to 16-inch fish. The pure joy of a White River fishing trip is that everybody can - and usually does - catch rainbow trout here yearround.

Cutthroats and brook trout also are present, thanks to stocking efforts by the A rkansas Game and Fish Commission. Smashing strikes are followed by bulldogging runs. And it's always amazing how a trout can hit a lure 10 feet underwater and the next instant perform aerial acrobatics that would put an Olympic gymnast to shame.

Any trout-fishing method can be applied here with success, but most visitors opt for a float-fishing excursion. The standard White River rig is a long, lean johnboat equipped with captain's chairs for fishing comfort, a drink cooler amidships, a 20-horsepower motor for the trip upriver at day's end, and a guide who knows every riffle and pool.

Float-fishing was refined to its truest form here by guides floating trout anglers through emerald-green pools walled by limestone bluffs that curve to the sky.

NORTH FORK RIVER

Its official name is NorthFork of the White River. But in typical cut-to-the-chase Ozark fashion, the locals over the years shortened it to the much simpler "Norfork".

Whatever you call it, you might be inclined to think of it as an insignificant part of Arkansas' trout fishery. Its brief five-mile run from Norfork Dam to the main channel of the White River doesn't seem like it would be very important, compared to the 92 miles of trout water on the White below Bull Shoals Dam.

But if you think that way, you're wrong. This five-mile stretch of water has produced thousands of 10-pound-plus brown trout, including a 34-pounder and a 38-pound, 9-ounce former world record.

The current state-record brook trout (5 pounds) also came from the North Fork. And like other Ozark trout waters, there are plenty of rainbows as well, with 10- to 14-inch specimens exceedingly abundant.

The North Fork is one of the brightest jewels in Arkansas' trout-fishing crown, and it's worthy of your attention.

SPRING RIVER

The Spring River is unique among Arkansas trout streams; its cold water comes naturally from a spring rather than artificially from deep within a man-made lake. Every hour, Mammoth Spring releases 9 million gallons of 58-degree water, and the river stays cold enough to support a good trout population for 10 miles downstream.

Even though the Spring River's trout-water area is short, it has a lot of diversity.

The 3 -mile stretch from Mammoth Spring to Dam 3 is ideal fly-fishing water and is best fished by wading or from the bank, except for the deep section near the dam.

Bank fishing is limited below Dam 3, both by streamside topography and the fact that both banks of the river are privately owned.

There's a small wade-fishing/bank-fishing area alongside the state-owned Spring River Hatchery, but aside fromthis limited and often overcrowded area, the best way to fish the river downstream from the dam is from a canoe.

The first three miles below Dam 3 provide the best action and the biggest f ish. Onepound to 3-pound rainbows are fairly common, although most fish are recently released stockers. Brown trout provide a trophy-trout facet to the river's fishing profile.

Although you'll find fish in deep-water runs, the best fishing is usually just below riffles and falls. Trout hold in these well-aerated spots and feed on aquatic life washing through the fast water.

Trout fishing remains fair to good all the way down to Many Islands Campground, a private facility nine miles downstream from the dam. There's still some trout fishing for about three miles below

Many Islands, but Myatt Creek enters the river at that point, and below the junctureof the two streams, the water is too warm to support a good trout population.

Several rapids and two small waterfalls are along the stretch between the dam and Many Islands.

Although the rapids are gentle and can be negotiated by beginning canoeists, you'd be well-adv ised to portage around the two falls. Because of the falls and the shallow riffles, the trout-water portion of Spring River is a one-way float stream. Don't bother bringing a motor; you won't get any use out of it. You can use a f latbottomed johnboat if you're stubborn about it, but you'll be sorry. Stick with the canoe, and make a traditional float.

Allow the better part of a day for a fishing float trip from Dam 3 to Many Islands. You can cover the distance in half a day, but you can't do much fishing.

RESOURCES For license information, maps and a current fishing regulations

guide, contact the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission, 800-

364-GAME, or visit www.agfc.com.

For information on trout fishing resorts, guide services, overnight

accommodations, camping and tourist attractions, contact:

LITTLE RED RIVER Heber Springs Chamber of Commerce, 800-774-3237, www.

heber-springs.com

WHITE AND NORTH FORK RIVERS Bull Shoals Lake/White River Chamber of Commerce, 800-447-

1290, www.bullshoals.org Mountain Home Area Chamber of Commerce, 800-822-3536,

www.enjoymountainhome.com Mountain View Area Chamber of Commerce, 888-679-2859,

www.mountainviewcc.org

SPRING RIVER Spring River Area Chamber of Commerce, 870-856-3210, www.

sracc.com

Tri-Lakes, Pages 126, 127 on 08/10/2008